What Did You Lose?
by Zeitlose Alters
Summary: TFP (Post Predacons Rising) Arcee and Knock Out open up to one another one night.


**A/N-hello! i got an idea and i wrote it down, then i hated it, so i rewrote it...on thing led to another and i typed out this one-shot. Post Predacons Rising.**

Knock Out sat at his desk in his new and refurbished med bay multitasking. One minute he was typing furiously at his computer display and the next he was scribbling notes on his data-pad like his life depended on it. But he didn't want to be taken the wrong way. Knock Out was ecstatic when the Autobots-him included-had restored Cybertron. But for the time being he and Ratchet were the only two mechs with any medical training for (most likely) 20 light years in any direction.

What Knock Out was working on seemed like endless secretary work. They had _**x**_ amount of Energon last week and **_y_** amount of Energon this week. Knock Out scribbled out some math in the air in front of him. Okay...so they used **_b_** amount and have to go mine **_c_** amount and-Knock Out groaned and laid his helm on the desk.

"I hate this," he mumbled through gritted denta, "this is supposed to be Ratchet's job. But since he's back on Earth, I get to be his paperwork junkie."

A tri-tone beep broke through his misery. Knock Out rolled his optics and pushed a flashing button on the keyboard which now served as his pillow.

"What is it? Five words or less."

Arcee was on the other end and snapped back with dry sarcasm, "sorry to wake you up from your beauty recharge," and though Knock Out couldn't see, Arcee was also rolling her optics, "but is the doctor still open for business?"

"Yeah. Meet me in the med-bay if...you can make it."

Knock Out clicked the channel off and it wasn't long before there was an expected knock on the door. Knock Out walked over and pushed the button for the door to slide open. He was greeted by a battered and beaten Arcee.

The slender, blue, femme was littered with little nicks and scratches. Above her right eye was a deep scratch that let Energon flow freely down her faceplate. One of the larger, decorative winglets on the right side was cut open to the point where the wiring was showing. Dried Energon coagulated around the border of the same gory cut. Arcee's right arm crossed over and was held against a set of claw marks on her left side. Erergon dripped in a slow trickle from beneath her hand. Last but not least: she was favoring her left leg which-like everything else-was puddling Energon on the ground outside the door..

"Scrap, what the hell happened to you? Get a little rough tonight with Wheeljack?"

Arcee reached out and slapped the mech across the faceplate, but winced at the recoil of pain that slapped back, "bite me. Just help me over to the table...I think I threw a rod somewhere."

"That you did," Knock Out put in as he wrapped Arcee's arm over his shoulders and guided her over to the medical berth, "so what happened?"

"I was driving back to my apartment when I ran into a stray Insecticon. I took care of him...but it took some effort," Arcee offered up with a weak smile, "knowing Megatron, that probably wasn't the last one either."

Knock Out sat Arcee down and recalled how the former warlord had sent many back the Cybertron to guard whatever of the Decepticon "empire" remained. Even to that day, many probably still stayed dormant without knowing that the planet was once again flourishing.

After a few minutes of hunting and gathering off in the back of the room, Knock Out returned pushing a small cart with various medical tools on it. He stood beside the seated femme and moved her arm off her side.

"Yikes. You, my dear, are in some serious need of a good polishing. And aside from the...terribly obvious-uh-damage...is there anything else I can do for you this evening?"

"Ha ha. Just hurry up. As much as I would love it, I couldn't hold myself back if I were to spend the rest of the night here," Arcee was never slow with sarcasm.

Knock Out pulled a welder and a pair of forceps from a small cart next to him and began with the cut on her winglet. It felt awkward being so close to the femme-even if it was for medical intentions. He had always thought of her as the enemy. But now she was a comrade, not a trust-her-with-my-spark kind of comrade, but a comrade nonetheless.

"Ow! Can't you be more gentle?" Arcee snapped as the red mech welded a couple of wires closed.

"Well s'cuse me for trying to do my job, missy. Or would you rather I ignore it and let this get rusted?"

Arcee growled quietly and bit her lower lip. She absolutely despised situations like this one-and having Knock Out here didn't make it any better. But, on the bright side, the medic had just finished welding the last of her winglet shut. She let out a small exhale as Knock Out handed her a thick rag and she gave him a questioning look.

"Hold it over those," he drew air circles in the direction of her clawed abdomen, "while I work on your leg. I'm assuming it's your ankle?"

Arcee responded with a small nod. The medic pulled a bench out of a slot on the side of the table. She hissed slightly when Knock Out pulled her left ankle up and began looking it over. When his hand brushed over a spot on the back of her leg just above the top of her heel strut. Arcee winced and pulled her leg back a little bit.

"Aha! It's nothing serious, but you do have a snapped strut down here. It'll take a couple of hours, but I can fix it. Just no strenuous work for a couple of days."

The annoyed femme sighed, "fine. Just don't take forever."

Knock Out pulled a syringe off of the cart and began to inject it into a vein near Arcee's injured strut. She closed her eyes as he pulled the needle out. Out of the corner of his optic he saw her.

"Squeamish are we?"

Arcee grumbled and kicked her leg up at Knock Out. She missed his face, but scratched his chest enough to mark the paint.

"Hey, hey, hey! A simple 'yes' would have also sufficed. Leg numb yet?"

The blue femme hung her helm and assumed a position of apology-like a small child who had just been yelled at-for a couple seconds then nodded. Knock Out picked his welder and forceps back up. Not long after he had started, Arcee glanced around the semi-undecorated medbay. Her optics caught on a small, silver holodisc resting on the desk by the keyboard.

Huh...I didn't know Knock Out was one for memories or sentiment, Arcee's thought spurred with imagining Knock Out having a significant other before the war. Probably some overly-beautified pageant star from Cyber City.

"What's on the holodisc?" she asked casually.

Knock Out stopped his work for a split second and his body tensed slightly, "it's...nothing. Just some bot I used to know."

"Old friend, wife, girlfriend," Arcee's slender lips curled into a tiny (but devious) smile, " boyfriend?"

"None of the above. I'd appreciate a subject change," the corner of the mech's optic twitched irritably and his tone was deep and slightly somber. He didn't even look up from his work.

Arcee's smile faded ever so slowly as she realized that she probably stirred up some unwanted memories, "whoever they were...did you love them?"

Knock Out stopped and looked up at Arcee. His expression read: You just couldn't drop it, could you? and he dropped his tools angrily on the adjacent tray with a dramatic clatter. He rose and walked over to the desk, his hand hovering over the disc as his servos hesitated to pick it up. Knock Out heard labored footsteps behind him (more like a step and a quiet scrape in repetition) and turned around to be met with Arcee about a foot away.

"Knock Out, I...I didn't mean to-"

"You wanna know so bad? Here," the mech picked up the holodisc and shoved it at the femme, "I said 'none of the above' because he was my husband," there was a few seconds of silence before Knock Out walked back to where he was sitting.

Arcee shook her head hugged her arms along with the holodisc to her chestplate, and managed her way back to the table.

When she was seated and Knock Out had resumed work, she clicked the disc on. An image of him and Breakdown illuminated in blue before her. The pair was kissing like a young teenage couple: Knock Out with his arms thrown around his partners neck-a look of utter bliss on the red mech's face; Breakdown had his arms floating in the air around Knock Out, since he had obviously been taken by surprise, a blush that was clearly visible even through the blue of the holodisc, and yet the blue mech could still be seen as happy.  
Knock Out looked up at the image but after a second he clenched his optics shut and turned away.

"I-I'm sorry. I had no idea that you and Breakdown were..."

"That was taken on..." the mech's voice caught, but he spoke over the knot that was twisting inside his throat, "...our...wedding day..."

"I know how you feel. Everyone assumes Tailgate and I were just close friends or partners on missions. We were married though. Just had come home from our honeymoon and bam...sucked into war."

"But, what about Cliffjumper?" Knock Out welded some wires together, stood, and moved to work on the cut on Arcee's forehead.

"We were...close. But he knew what I had gone through and didn't want it to happen again. We loved each other, but like siblings."

Knock Out nodded and the two fell silent. When he finished on her forehead, the mech moved down to her side. It was uncomfortable, but he pushed those feelings down. As he worked, it hit Knock Out. He wasn't the only one who had lost something close. Yes, Breakdown was his lover and husband, but so many others had lost so much more. Arcee was a prime example...and now he realized that he wasn't alone.

"There. You're all done. Umm...do you need any help getting back to you apartment?"

"No. Thanks," Arcee kept her optics down and stepped off the table.

Her eyes met his and they locked gazes for a second. Arcee laid a hand over his spark.

"I've always thought of you as the enemy, Knock Out, but now I see that you weren't. You and i are almost the same: both fighting to protect the ones we love. I was wrong about you."

"Arcee...we are not the same in any way. You have lost so much more than me."

The femme shook her head slightly and wrapped her hands over Knock Out's helm. Pulling him in for a savory kiss. Lips pressed tight, he ran his hands down her sides-wary of where he had just welded. Arcee's hands traced down his arms until she found his hands. As much as she wanted to hold it, Arcee pulled herself off Knock Out and broke the kiss.

"I probably should go," she kept her optics down as she headed for the door, "thank you."

The door closed behind her as the sound of a revving engine and screeching tires echoed through the room.

Knock Out smiled, "oh, Arcee...don't ever change."


End file.
